Movie Review

This month’s movie is Rush.

Rush follows the careers of two Formula 1 race car drivers competing for the 1976 championship.
But who cares – it’s all about the budgies!

Driver James Hunt life revolves around driving, partying and girls. And budgies!

The budgies only show up briefly in a couple scenes. Cooper thinks the movie would have won best picture if they had focused less on the cars and more on the budgies.

James Hunt retired from the race scene and went on to become a budgie breeder. He entered competitions and was said to have had 300 budgies.
“He could spend hours in the aviary talking to his budgies.”

Movie Review

This month’s movie is Doctor, You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

Heather (Sandra Dee) works as a secretary, but hopes to become a singer. When she unexpectedly finds she is pregnant, three of her suitors ask for her hand in marriage. Her boss (George Hamilton) does not want to marry her. Could he be the father??

Who cares! The real star of the show is Raphael, who belongs to Heather’s mother (played by Celeste Holm).

Raphael likes to dive bomb humans and land on their heads. 

When a house party gets out of control, the police are called. In all the confusion, the police take aim at the bird (BOO!). Raphael manages to evade the bullets.

Raphael also provides a twist. “He” lays an egg and becomes… Ramona!

If you like kooky comedies, then this one is for you. Despite a star turn by Raphael/Ramona it’s not one of Sandra Dee’s better films (I recommend Gidget).

*Sandra Dee gets bonus points for also starring in movie that features a budgie – Come September reviewed here.

Movie Review

This month’s movie is Love Exposure.
*This review has spoilers!
So, where to even start… This Japanese film is 4 hours long – cut down from 6 (!) hours,  some of which Cooper was not allowed to watch (a budgie is stepped on by an abusive father). Eek. Most of the violence is campy gore, though (geysers of blood for example).

The story is about Yū, a young man whose mother dies at an early age. His father becomes a priest and wishes Yū to confess his sins. Yū is a good boy and not having anything to confess, decides to commit some real sins. He takes up with a gang of upskirt photographers and finds success taking “panty shots”.
After losing a bet with friends, Yū must dress as a woman and kiss a girl he likes. When he sees Yōko fighting with some street thugs, he joins in to help her. Yōko falls in love with him, thinking he is a woman named Miss Scorpion.

Aya, comes from an abusive home. She becomes psychotic, shoots up her school and cuts off her father’s penis. But she does have two budgies (the first meets an untimely end), so she can’t be all bad. Aya joins a cult, the Zero Church. She falls in love with  Yū, manipulates her way into his family and pretends to be Miss Scorpion. Yōko joins the cult and is brainwashed. Yū breaks in to the cult to save her. Aya commits suicide and the two lovers are united.

There was a lot going on in this movie. Religion, guilt, love, perversion, fight scenes, blood, cults. Cooper liked that the budgie appeared throughout the film, but she thought there should have been more budgie scenes. The movie is already 4 hours long, why not add some more budgie (who was clearly the star of the movie)?

Movie Review

This month’s movie is A Stork’s Journey.

Richard is a sparrow who is adopted by storks when his mother and father meet an untimely end. When the storks migrate to Africa, they leave Richard behind. With his new friends, Olga the owl and Kiki, the budgie, Richard heads south to rejoin his family.

But who cares! It’s all about Kiki! Kiki is a pudgy, disco loving budgie who dreams of becoming a singing sensation at the San Remo music festival. Kiki derails the trio’s journey to Africa to attend the festival, and is crushed when another budgie is singing his signature song.

In the end, Kiki overcomes his fear of flying and realizes how important true friendship is. Oh, and Richard finds and is accepted by his stork family in Africa.
Cooper thinks this movie would have been better if Kiki had been the star. She was happy that he escaped his small cage and found true friendship. She also enjoyed seeing different bird characters (pigeons, crows), but liked the blue budgie the best.

Sido’s Movie Review

This month’s movie is Trumbo.

Trumbo stars Bryan Cranston, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this role. It follows the ups and downs in the life of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.

Dalton Trumbo is a successful screenwriter, until he and his friends are blacklisted for their political beliefs. Trumbo is sent to prison for 11 months. When he is released he is unable to find work and must resort to ghostwriting. 

But who cares! The real star of the movie is Trumbo’s cockatiel. I’m certain his pet tiel inspired him to create such works as Roman Holiday and Spartacus, films for which he was eventually recognized.

Sido enjoyed this movie. She looked up Trumbo and his pet cockatiel and found that, according to director Jay Roach,
“You saw the pictures in the credits of him with the bird on his head. His daughter would find a wounded bird and he would [take it in] and then Kirk Douglas recognized that he loved birds so much, so he bought him that parrot – I think it’s a cockatoo [it’s a cockatiel]. And he named it Sam Jackson, which was the pseudonym. Sam Jackson was the name that Dalton Trumbo used to write Spartacus.

So when Otto Preminger (Christian Berkel) says, “Oh, it’s a distraction”, he [Trumbo] says “no, he wrote Spartacus.” He is referring to his own pseudonym. Kirk knew that he loved birds and it was a way to win him over. He carried that bird around and he really would let it kiss his lips. And Bryan, on the set – the bird would be chewing on his ear.”

Movie Review

This month’s movie is Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye.

This movie is a collection of three stories, connected by a traveling cat.The first two stories (adaptations of short stories in King’s Night Shift collection) did not feature a budgie, and were of little interest to Cooper. She did enjoy a pecky pigeon who was the downfall of a nasty casino owner in “The Ledge”, though.

In “General” the cat must protect a little girl from a troll. Unfortunately, General is unable to save Polly the parakeet from the evil troll. Polly’s appearance in the movie was short, but she was clearly the star of the show. 

Aside from Polly’s tragic demise, this is not the scariest of Halloween flicks. But if you’re up for a cheesy 80’s flick (look for all the Stephen King movie references), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye is worth a look.

Movie Review

This month’s movie is Rocky.

This movie is about a small time boxer who overcomes the odds to become a champion. But who cares?! It’s all about the budgies.

Rocky’s love interest, Adrian, is a clerk at a pet store.

In this clip, Rocky flirts with Adrian, while the budgies (“flying candy”) steal the scene.

Budgies also appear in Rocky II.

I’m sure the budgies were also the inspiration for Rocky’s theme song: Gonna Fly Now.

Movie Review

This month’s movie is The Secret Life of Pets.

In The Secret Lives of Pets, a group of pets has a wild adventure in the city while they’re owners are at work. 

Max, a terrier, is not too happy when his owner brings home a new dog, Duke. In his efforts to rid himself of his new housemate, the two dogs end up without their collars and are captured by animal control. 

With the help of fellow pets and the “flushed” pets, Max and Duke become friends and find their way back home. But who cares! It’s all about Sweet Pea, the little green and yellow budgie. While Sweet Pea doesn’t have any dialogue (other than some chirps and tweets) and has only two featured scenes (at the beginning and the end of the movie), he lights up the screen – and leaves us wanting more. Cooper enjoyed this movie, and is hoping that Sweet Pea will have a spin-off. A budgie movie is long overdue!

Movie Review

This month’s movie is Cast a Dark Shadow. cdsTeddy Bare murders his wealthy, older wife, Monica, to gain her fortune. But his timing is off and her will does not name him as sole beneficiary. Monica’s sister is set to inherit, but lives in Jamaica, far from Teddy’s clutches.
Teddy then marries wealthy Freda, who is shrewd and who keeps Teddy in check. Soon after, Charlotte arrives in town. Will Teddy be able to separate her from her money? DSC06632Cooper didn’t care much for Teddy and was glad he got the ending he deserved. Her favorite characters in the movie were the budgies (one is named Simon) who appear in a scene with Monica’s maid. The budgies stole the show – Cooper thinks they should have been in every scene.

Save

Save

Save

Movie Review

This month’s movie is The Messenger.messenger1The Messenger investigates the cause and effect of the disappearance of the world’s songbirds. Global warming, predation by cats, hunting by humans, deforestation, noise and light pollution and pesticides are explored. The documentary interviews scientists and bird lovers from different parts of the world.m2There are some beautiful shots of various birds, both in their natural habitats and flying in  slow motion. The satellite maps of migration routes are interesting as well.
While there positive strides being made (Toronto activists drastically cutting collision deaths by placing markers on mirrored/clear-glass building surfaces), The Messenger is a warning that more needs to be done before it is too late.

*Cooper wasn’t allowed to watch this movie, because it was too disturbing.

Save